At perdaily, we always give priority to those willing to share their personal experiences of endemic waste and corruption at LAUSD and UTLA, which we call The Lands That Time Forgot. The more of you willing to talk, the less likely people like the newly appointed LAUSD Chief of Staff Michelle King will be able to get away with ridiculous statements like, "I believe we do a good job in LAUSD, a great job" in light of continuing abysmal API scores released for 2009 last Wednesday.

The first and most important step to finally turning LAUSD around and holding it accountable for its actions or lack of same is the realization that the vast majority of teachers, students, parents, and even some administrators want excellent education and not the failed social promotion daycare system that present non-representative LAUSD leadership continue to sustain solely for their own financial benefit and those businesses making money off the District.

The first step in achieving a great public education system is dissuading the majority who want a better LAUSD from the cynical notion they have been brain-washed into believing that it cannot be changed. This self-defeating idea has been carefully nurtured by those in power at LAUSD and the politicians that support them, when nothing could be further from the truth. If for no other reason those who want a better public education system need to speak up and organize so they will not be bored to death by most of present LAUSD and UTLA leadership that have neither the vision or intelligence to see just how easy it would be to allow our students to thrive and reach their potential. It's actually harder work to maintain the dysfunction than it would be to really teach.

Leonard, the army of discontent is growing...[redacted]

... i would like to retain my anonymity. i thought you should know about the waste. i'm sure you've heard about the cameraman who takes pictures for the LAUSD webpage and how the job pays over $100k. For years now, lurking in the local district offices theres an admin with the same pay range who is referred to as the "data guy" that position is being extended as a coordinator position on campuses. case in point: at garfield high school there is a data guy, at the top of the pay scale, who is the coordinator in charge of "data." whatever the qualifications are, i'm going to assume the individual should be skilled with math, statistics, and the Student Information System. the guy sits in his cave, with a B.A. in geology, and makes about 150k with all the overtime he is alloted. he gets his data from the SIS clerk and passes it on. someone had some guilt and made him responsible for advanced placement testing, but he says he cant go anywhere near the test because his relative is about to take tests and it is contrary to the AP rules for him to come in contact. im sure the lausd inspector general can avert away from this one.

-- waste not, want not"

There is an excellent litmus test as to whether we are being successful in our campaign to turn LAUSD and UTLA around: Do they continue to ignore us or will they come after us more and more with more bogus and illegal process to try and stop us from speaking the truth to help empower students, teachers, parents, and even some administrators. The quoted tidbit above does not exist in a security vacuum. Others of you have information to flesh out the allegations it makes, since LAUSD presently feels so immune from accountability that it makes no attempt to cover its tracks.

When I was removed from my expensive rented stand-alone classroom site in an office building on Wilshire Blvd. near Hauser, the excuse that my principal gave was that the site would be closed. This $3700 site with no windows was previously rented for $2400 with a lease that is scheduled to expire in June of this year. Although I was removed from the site last year, the site remains open and will continue to be maintained with usually less than 10 students after the lease expires in June. I guess there is only a $640 million financial crisis for some things at LAUSD and not for others. Are the wasteful expenditures described here a reason to vote yes on LAUSD Measure E a $100 parcel tax assessment next month?

24

05 2010

1 Comment

Dear Tipster--i realize your position and respect your need to be unknowable, but with some information about a former AP at Garfield, we could actually prove that LAUSD intentionally sabotages schools and encourages the abuse of teachers by administrators. No need to tell me your name.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Rene
radaxis7@aol.com